The funeral of a Burmese migrant worker killed in Malaysia in December 2014. / Reuters

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By Moe Myint 6 January 2017

RANGOON – Four Burmese men were killed and three badly injured in a machete attack on 13 migrant workers in the Bukit Serdang area of Kuala Lumpur on Thursday night, according to U San Win of the The Kathpone Free Funeral Service Society in Kuala Lumpur.

The 13 Burmese employees of a television hardware factory in the Malaysian capital were attacked by a group of men armed with machetes after they left the factory at 10 p.m. on Thursday, U San Win told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

Four died at the scene of the crime while three are receiving medical treatment at Serdang general hospital, he said.

“The rest of them were terrified. They could not remember the faces of the violent attackers and there was no lighting on the path,” said U San Win on the phone from Kuala Lumpur, adding that the Burmese embassy has demanded that the Malaysian authorities investigate the assault.

An embassy staffer confirmed the attack and said that Burmese officials would be visiting the individuals in hospital, but declined to give further comment.

Representatives from Serdang Hospital told The Irrawaddy it could not provide information about the patients.

According to U San Win, four of the victims held official passports while another three are believed to be migrant workers. He was still inquiring the victims’ places of birth in Burma.

The Irrawaddy was not able to reach any of the victims for comment.

This is not the first attack on Burmese workers in Malaysia: in July 2014, U San Win reported that four migrants were killed by unknown attackers over 10 days. Dozens of Burmese were killed in Malaysia in 2013 and 2014.